RA Halloween A Short Story
by fanwarrior2211
Summary: Ranger Gilan and a strange girl named Kai have to track down a group of demon worshippers after they cause a commotion at Redmont's annual Harvest Day. Back home at Redmont, Ranger's apprentice and Crown Princess Maddie and Ranger Halt wonder if Will is going to recover from being sick.
1. Happy Harvest Day!

**_A/N: DO NOT READ THIS FANFICTION IF YOU HAVEN'T READ ALL OF THE RA BOOKS, THERE ARE MAJOR SPOILERS. This is the first part of my promised RA Autumn FanFic for my contest!🍂🍁🎃🐾 🔥_**

 _Third Person's POV:_

 **Six Months After RA Book 12...**

"Maddie's eyes popped open. As always, she tried to remember where she was, then realized she was in Will's cabin in the woods outside of Castle Redmont. She sat up in bed and stretched, jumping up to grab some clothes out of her small closet.

On her way outside to the shower, she called hi to Will, her mentor, who was sitting at the table, reading an important-looking document and frowning.

"Whaaaa... Oh, good morning Maddie. Happy Harvest Day," he said distractedly. Maddie mentally slapped herself. She had forgotten Harvest Day!

Harvest Day was a day in Redmont where everyone could get together, play some games, eat some tasty food, and just have a good time. Most farm workers gave themselves the day off and took their families to the celebrations. No stores opened.

Maddie had heard that this year there was going to be a parade. She was so distracted that she stumbled and fell over the bottom back step. She winced and got up gingerly. Her leg still ached from time to time from her javelin wound.

After her shower, Maddie rushed inside to get some breakfast, her wet hair dripping all over the floor. Will never liked it when she was late for practice. "You do know you have the day off today, right?" Will was watching her with an amused look on his face.

Maddie studied him and noticed more of his sad wrinkles had disappeared recently. "Oh... I do? Really?" "Do you ever only ask one question at a time?" Will grinned at her.

She sighed and admitted she had set herself up for that one. "And, yes, you do. My treat. Go see your parents. Have some fun today." Maddie was the Royal Crown Princess of Araluen, training as a Ranger. "Yesssss!" she said. She ran to the front door, pulled on her cloak, and buckled on her scabbard.

She patted Sable, Will's dog, who was sitting on the verandah, and headed towards the stable to saddle up her horse, Bumper. She heard him and Tug both call a greeting to her as she swung open the stable door.

"Hi, boy. I'm so excited! Guess what? I have the day off today! We can ride around town!" Bumper looked at her as if to say, I'll ride with you after I get my apple. Maddie obligingly pulled an apple from her pocket.

And waited patiently for him to crunch it up and swallow it. The second the last of that apple was down Bumper's throat, Maddie saddled him so fast it could have been a record.

As she was riding into the village, she spied her friend Jenny waving to her from her restaurant, The Heaped Platter. Maddie waved back and smiled. It was a crisp morning in the early days of autumn, a perfect day for riding.

She neared the town center, to check on parade setup. People were everywhere! This was the village closest to the castle, so people from outlying villages came to help with the Harvest Day preparations. Children ran through the crowded streets, so Maddie decided to get off Bumper and walk him.

The headmen from the different villages were organizing some groups of people into ranks, and Maddie guessed they were to be the entertainers for that night, and that they were going over their routines. Now that she had seen everything running smoothly, she didn't know where to go next. She mounted Bumper again.

This time when she passed The Heaped Platter, Jenny called out to her. "Maddie! Come have some hot rolls with jam. I just baked a fresh batch." Maddie's stomach rumbled. She was in such a hurry to get out of the cabin that she only picked up a piece of toast before leaving, and had ended up giving it to Bumper.

Okay, she thought. I'll have a few. Maddie noticed that Jenny's face had an extra light to it today. She stopped by the door and dropped Bumper's reins. "Stay," she said, and walked inside. She went to find Jenny, when another familiar voice said, "Maddie!"

"Gil?!" Maddie exclaimed. "Guess who decided to come and visit for Harvest Day?" Jenny walked out of the back room, beaming. Maddie ran over and hugged Gilan. "How did you get the day off?" she asked. Gilan was the Ranger Corps Commandant, which meant he ran the Corps and dealt with all of the really official paperwork.

"I looked at all my paperwork and thought, 'To hell with it today!' Going to regret that tomorrow. Hey... is Will giving you the day off?" Gilan said incredulously, and Maddie laughed. "Yep," she said happily.

The official Harvest Day celebration didn't begin until around 6:00, after everyone had eaten, so Maddie just hung around town, mainly in the restaurant with Jenny and Gilan. The three of them were sitting at a table in the back, talking about nothing, when Maddie blurted out, "Are you getting married yet?"

This greeted silence all around. Jenny and Gilan wanted to marry, but Jenny wasn't going to uproot her restaurant business any time soon just to follow Gilan around on his Ranger business. Each time they met, Gilan asked Jenny to marry him, but again and again she declined his offer.

"Well..." Gilan started, but Maddie flushed and said, "I'm sorry if you didn't want to talk about it, I mean-" "Actually, I've decided to take Gil up on his offer this time. We just didn't want anyone to know until later..." Jenny trailed off. "Oh my goodness, that's great!" Maddie squealed. "I promise I won't tell anyone."

"Thanks, Maddie," Gilan said with relief. They were interrupted by a loud crash, the crash of cymbals. "We'd better hurry if we want a good spot to watch the parade from," Jenny said, and they all rushed out.

 ** _Do you guys like the little paragraphs I did this time?_**

 ** _-Audrey❤️❤️❤️❤️_**


	2. Disaster

**_A/N: As you'll see later on in this chapter, I try writing from someone else's POV. I've never tried that before, so feel free to tell me if I screwed it up. Thanks_**

 _Third Person's POV:_

As Jenny, Gilan, and Maddie walked outside, they were greeted by even more good smells. The cymbal crashing was getting louder now, and they craned to see what was going on.

The head of the parade was just visible through the throng of curious onlookers. There were drummers, cymbal players, even acrobats and fire-eaters from the motley folk. Maddie felt an adrenaline rush looking at all the displays. It was fall now, so the days got shorter. It was almost dusk.

The crowd miraculously parted like the Red Sea to either side as the parade came through the cobblestone street, accompanied by a great noise. There were lots of "ooohhhhs" and "aaahhhhs" as the fire eaters and acrobats performed daring stunts and dangerous tricks.

Then, after about five minutes, everyone heard screaming come from the back of the parade, a sound that chilled Maddie's blood. It wasn't a happy scream, or a sad one. It was the scream of someone who was terrified and in pain. "Jenny, stay here. Maddie, come with me," Gilan said urgently. They headed towards the back end of the parade, concealing themselves in the shadows.

When Maddie and Gilan arrived, they found another cloaked figure already there. "Will?" Maddie whispered. All had gone silent among the townspeople, but the Rangers could heard a soft whispering of cloth. "You're already here?" Maddie asked. "I heard the screaming," Will replied.

The Rangers ghosted in and out of shadow patterns, slowly moving to behind the parade. What they saw shocked them. Around ten figures were standing in a circle around a girl. The figures were clothed only in rough flour sacks, with eyeholes cut in the sacks that were over their heads.

The girl who was standing in the circle seemed about 14 or 15, and she had a bloody scar running down the left side of her face, which looked defiant. Maddie noticed there was an inner circle of shining blood between the girl and the sack people. This must be why the girl was bleeding.

The three Rangers jumped out of the shadows, pulling out their knives. The sack people looked very surprised, but the girl didn't. Gilan dealt with four sack people since he had a sword, while Maddie and Will each took three. Within a minute they were all in thumb cuffs, facedown on the ground.

Maddie turned to the girl. "Are you alright?" she asked. "Yes, I'm perfectly alright, I was just slashed in the face and prepared to be sacrificed by these weirdos!" the girl replied sarcastically. Maddie caught her Magyaran accent and frowned. The girl didn't have the features of a Magyaran.

"Okay, okay. What's your name?" Maddie asked gently. "Kai," the girl said, softer this time. "By the way, I saw you coming."

"You did?!" the Rangers chorused. "Yep, but you're really good at moving silently," Kai said, pointing to Gilan. "I probably could have dealt with them on my own if there were about half as many of them." "Who are they?" Will wanted to know. "You said something about them trying to sacrifice you?" he added. "Demon-worshippers. The darkest of the dark. Total creeps, if you ask me," said Kai.

"Why did you scream?" Maddie asked. "To get your attention. I know Rangers usually patrol an event like this. Thanks for saving me," Kai traced a pale scar on her neck, a scar from years past.

 _Kai's POV:_

 **Two Days Later...**

The rest of Harvest Day had been canceled. The farm workers, merchants, and the rest of the townspeople were eager to take their families back to their safe homes. The appearance of the demon-worshippers had shaken everyone up pretty badly. I didn't blame them.

Will and Maddie had taken me back to their cabin to determine what would happen to me. They had cleaned up the cut on my face, and the creepy sack people had been put in prison. Right then I was with Will, watching Maddie train, when I said, "Can I try training too?"

Will looked surprised, then he composed his features and said, "Go for it." Maddie was just about to start her mile run. I lined up with her at the start line, then Will shouted, "Go!" I set myself a steady pace, and Maddie did the same. I had slight breathing problems, so after a while I dropped behind.

On the last leg of the run I pulled ahead of Maddie by about a foot, and crossed the line first. Maddie glared daggers at me. "You're in wonderful shape," Will praised. "I've had to be," I replied gravely. Later on, I showed Will the weapons I used. (Maddie claimed she had to do the dishes. Again.)

I had a leather belt that had a two side scabbards (scabbards that, instead of hanging down, ran on the belt) with a thin, long, and sharp knife in each. My vest had four big pockets. In the left side pocket I had a bag that contained two sharp rocks, a small pocketknife, some personal mementos, and piece of hard candy.

The right side pocket contained my medical pack. There was a large bandage roll, a pot of warmweed healing salve, a needle and thread, and a tiny jar of a dark, sticky substance. Will pointed to it. "What's that?" he asked. I paled. No one ever asked me that. "Um..." I sighed. "It's poison."

"Poison?! That's terrible!" Will exclaimed in astonishment. "Listen, you may not understand, but I haven't lived an easy life. Most of my life has been spent in danger. I need this."

"Besides, I doesn't kill anyone," I said angrily. "But..." Will said. "I never showed you this, did I?" I said, and pulled out my blowgun and dart pouch from my bottom right vest pocket. "Oh. I'm sorry..." Will apologized. "It's okay," I said quietly. My anger fizzled down.

The bottom left pocket of my vest had my money bag in it. I didn't have much money, but I took odd jobs everywhere I went, so I scraped by.

 ** _Phew. Second chapter down! I think this story's gonna have about 7 or 8 chapters, so keep on the lookout for updates!  
-Audrey❤️❤️❤️️❤️️_**


	3. No!

**_A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating. Writer's block this week...  
_**

 _Will's POV:  
_

I'm not sure why Maddie hated Kai so much, but I think I had an idea. One day after training, I drew Kai aside. She looked angry. "Kai," I said, "Don't let Maddie get you down. She's might be a Ranger's Apprentice, but she is the royal princess. She doesn't like getting beat. At anything."

The flush of anger left Kai's face and she sighed.

 ** _The idea for this part of the story I give credit to RedRose-Arrow on Wattpad. They gave me permission to use their idea. Thanks!_**

 **One day later...**

I don't know why I got so scared. I should've set a better example to Maddie and Kai to not hold on to past horrors. The day started out just fine. I was teaching Kai how to throw the long, lethal, knives she wore. She was catching on pretty quickly, but one of her shots had went wide and disappeared into the woods.

"I'll get it, you keep practicing," I told her. She grabbed her other knife and balanced it in her hand while I jogged off into the dark trees. From a distance I found the knife, laying among the pine needles.

Stalking through the darkness, I was almost to the knife when I stumbled on a log in the middle of the path. I cursed as I fell and cut my leg on the blade itself, opening a gash that bled profusely. I wanted to panic when I saw the amount of blood, but I forced myself to breathe steadily.

"Maddie!" I called out. "Bring the salve!" I hated the warmweed salve, but I had to use it sometimes. Besides, I had left my pack back at the cabin. Both Maddie and Kai came running, Maddie with the pot of salve in her hand. She gasped when she saw my leg, and immediately stooped down to clean the wound.

Then she stopped and turned to Kai. "Maybe you should do it since you're so special," Maddie said acidly. "Okay." Kai appeared unfazed, but I could see the anger boiling beneath the surface as Maddie stalked around to the other side of me.

Kai opened the container and scooped some salve onto her fingers, and reached toward my leg. Then everything went wrong. She unthinkingly reached up to scratch her mouth. "NO!" I yelled. In just a few seconds my breathing had become faster, and I could see dark spots at the edge of my vision.

Calm down, I told myself, but I couldn't. I started to scream and cry over and over again, hyperventilating, thinking about how Kai almost got the stuff in her mouth, and how she could've... It could've happened to her too.

"No!" I gasped, over and over again. Maddie and Kai tried to comfort me, but I was beyond madness. All I could see in my mind's eye was Kai becoming a mindless slave with no feelings, no heart, as Evanlyn had told me I had become.

Finally Maddie had an idea. "Ride to Redmont and ask for Halt. He'll know what to do. Hurry!" she shouted these last words to Kai through her tears, but Kai was already up and running. I was having trouble staying conscious now, and everything swam in front of me. Then the blackness that I knew was coming seeped in.

 _Kai's POV:_

Bumper pounded along the flat track to Castle Redmont. Gorlog knew who Halt was, but I vaguely remembered hearing his name somewhere. Oh. Duh! He was Halt, who helped defeat Morgarath, and Master to the famous Will Treaty.

Will. What had happened? I knew the drug warmweed was sadly very effective in many addicts' cases, as well as being a healing compound. Maybe Will had had a run-in with the wrong side of it in the past. I shook myself back to the present as Bumper approached the castle gates.

"I live with Ranger Will in his cabin, and something happened to him. I need to see Ranger Halt. Now," I added forcefully as the guards stoutly refused to move. 

"Oh, for Gorlog's sake, let me in! Or you could let the Ranger could die... the Baron might not be to happy with you then." I didn't expect that to convince them, but they reluctantly stepped aside.

I dismounted Bumper, dropped his reins into the hands of one of the guards, and rushed inside. I didn't know where I was going, but ran up every flight of stairs, thinking the Baron's office would be at the top. I went in the biggest door I came to. Knock, knock, knock, knock.

A middle-aged man with a graying (and receding!) hairline opened the door. Baron Arald was an impressive figure, but that's all I noticed before confronting him. "I need Halt. I live in Will's cabin with him and he had a... I don't know what it was, but he broke down. Maddie said Halt could help him." I explained rapidly.

Baron Arald paled. "But.. Will... Surely not." "Surely so!" I said irritably, forgetting proper form of address. "I. Need. Halt." "Down the hall, third door to the left," Baron Arald mumbled. He was obviously still very confused and had forgotten I was there.

I tore down the hall, not pausing when I knocked a pile of dirty laundry out of a startled maid's arms. Finding the correct door, I burst inside. Apparently I was interrupting a serious conversation between Halt and his wife, the Head of the Diplomatic Corps, Lady Pauline.

"Halt..." I said breathlessly. "Will... needs your help. Now." "What? Who are you?" Halt said sharply, whipping around to face me. "I'm Kai. Will and Maddie picked me up at Harvest Day." Lady Pauline stepped in. "She said Will needs your help, dear," she said gently.

"Right." Halt seemed to recognize my earlier statement for the first time. Then he turned the same shade as Baron Arald. "He's okay, isn't he?"

"I don't know... He had a panic attack. I was using warmweed salve on a leg cut of his, then I almost got it in my mouth by accident. He started hyperventilating and all he did was cry and he started choking and-" my voice broke, but I didn't cry.

Halt regained his composure only to lose it again. "Warmweed salve, you say? Oh no... Let's go. Hurry up!" He barked at me. We rushed down to the the castle gates. Halt ran to the stables and saddled his horse in record time, while I took Bumper's reins from the dumbfounded guard.

We clattered off down the road to Will's cabin.


End file.
